Halloween

I didn’t expect too much out of Halloween this year. After all, it is primarily a US holiday.

Two days ago we kicked off the season with pumpkin carving. Today I found myself surrounded by 300 kids in Halloween attire. Hong Kong celebrates Halloween, but mostly in the schools. At a kindergarten where I work, one out of every three girls came to school as a princess. The boys were mostly super heros. Every child brought a bag full of candy. (A little backwards, right?) Throughout the day the school re-distributed the candy. There was no “best costume” award like we used to have when I was in school. But I made sure to tell some scary stories in my classes to sufficiently frighten the 4 year olds.

During lunch, I read an interesting article in one of Hong Kong’s newspapers about the clash between Chinese religious beliefs and the celebration of Halloween ghosts. The Chinese are firm believers in ancestral ghosts. It is a common sight to see food left on sidewalks for these “ghosts” in order to appease them. Fake paper money is burned as a sort of after-life pension program. Consequently, some parents didn’t allow their children to attend school today. They didn’t want them taking part in the Halloween festivities.

Here is an excerpt from the article:

Lai Chi-tim, a professor in Chinese religions at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, said many Chinese are left bemused by the festival.

“In Chinese religious traditions, it is not understandable why the ghosts have to become part of Halloween,” he said. “The underworld is not a source of amusement. Chinese people believe that when you pass away, spirits are still living in this world.”

When evening rolled around, Lamma Island was bouncing with children. Our island is one of the few places in Hong Kong that trick-or-treats. (How can you go door to door when everyone lives in a high-rise?) Maeli was in disbelief that she could go from store to store on main street and collect candy. It was one of those moments that makes parenting the best job in the world.